Danny Cowley hailed Colchester’s defensive resilience at Crewe but said if he gave his true opinion on their disallowed goal, the fine would cost his children their Christmas presents.
Cowley’s joy at earning a goalless draw in front of Gresty Road’s biggest crowd for 18 years was tempered after Fiacre Kelleher had a headed effort ruled out for a foul on Crewe keeper Filip Marschall just before the break.
Marschall had just thwarted Lyle Taylor before he was beaten by a set-piece header from the centre-back at the far post, only for referee Geoff Eltringham to rule out the effort.
“I’ll have to be careful what I say as my kids want Christmas presents next week, but I just don’t understand as we scored a perfectly good goal,” said Cowley.
“The ref said we were blocking off the goalkeeper, but all we were doing was standing in space behind him which any intelligent team does so it’s up to the keeper to manoeuvre around our player to get to the ball.
“But I’d rather talk about my team as we’ve come to Crewe, who are third in the league and are a really good team, and in front of their biggest crowd for years. Everyone has come expecting a Crewe win, but we absolutely dominated the first half and that’s without a full-strength side and a makeshift back four.
“The effort of the boys was just magnificent. We lost Samson Tovide in the second half but the lads just dug so deep and fought so hard and this clean sheet was magnificent.
“We have to keep going as even in this run we’ve deserved more than we’ve got. My feeling is that if we keep going and keep working and stay together as we are that 2025 will be a really good year for the club.”
Cowley’s side did most of the pressing in a first half lacking goalmouth action, apart from Taylor’s effort and a blast from Crewe’s Shilow Tracey which Us defender Ellis Iandolo did well to diver around the post.
Colchester’s domination forced Lee Bell to change his side’s shape at the break and Omar Bogle was drafted on midway into the second half to breathe life into a toothless attack.
Bogle almost made it count when he squeezed an effort from a tight angle onto the post after getting free. Max Conway wasted a clear sight of goal in the closing minutes when he drove wide of Matt Macey’s goal.
That meant Crewe’s bid to secure the win that would leapfrog them over local rivals Port Vale into second place faded in front of a crowd of 9,288 – the club’s highest since 2006, helped by a discounted ticket offer.
Alex boss Lee Bell said: “It was a tactical game and Colchester are a tough nut to crack. They shaded the first half but after the change we were the better team in the second half.
“There weren’t many chances in the game and Colchester are a really good team. But we focus on us and we didn’t do enough in the final third. We didn’t get the ball to the wingers enough and get crosses into the box.
“Our best play came when Omar hit the post, but we couldn’t get enough of that going.
“But it’s another clean sheet, although we know we can play better than that. We’ll take the positives out of it, including the fans who have come to see us tonight.”
